Munitions

120 mm illumination ammunition

Also known as
  • 120 mm mortar illumination rounds
  • 120 mm illuminating mortar round
  • 120 mm mortar illuminating bomb
  • 120 mm MILL

120 mm illumination ammunition is a heavy mortar munition class that ejects a parachute-retarded candle to light target areas for night observation, signaling, and fire adjustment. Nammo publishes a representative 120 mm illuminating round with time-fuze deployment at 500-700 meters, while U.S. Army sources identify visible-light M930 and infrared M983 cartridges for the M120A1 and M121 mortar systems. In the 2001 War in Afghanistan, U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest fired 120 mm mortar illumination rounds from Bost Airfield to support Afghan government forces during combat operations in Helmand Province.

120 mm illumination ammunition, 120 mm illuminating ammunition, Munitions
Image source: 120mm mortar bomb illuminating, photographed at the Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum.JPG

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Multiple countries
Type
120 mm illuminating ammunition
Service note
20th century-present
Designed
20th century
Produced
20th century-present

Specifications

Caliber
120 mm
Munition class
Illuminating mortar projectile
Illumination method
Representative modern rounds use a time fuze to open the body and deploy a parachute-retarded illumination kit
Representative deployment height
500-700 m for Nammo's 120 mm Mortar Illuminating Round
Representative output
1,000,000 cd luminosity for at least 50 s on Nammo's published 120 mm illuminating round
Representative mass
14.0 kg flying mass for Nammo's 120 mm illuminating round
Representative range
300 m minimum / 8,300 m maximum for Nammo's published 120 mm illuminating round
Compatible systems
Standard smoothbore muzzle-loaded 120 mm mortar systems; Patria AMOS and NEMO with stub case; compatible rifled gun-mortars including the 2A60 Nona ordnance on the 2S23 Nona-SVK where sources identify illumination ammunition
Typical role
Night battlefield illumination and target marking
Illumination Package

Representative 120 mm illumination rounds are built around a timed ejection sequence rather than blast effect. The round opens above the target area, releases a parachute-suspended candle, and trades explosive payload for temporary overhead light.

FeatureDocumented valueReader context
DeploymentTime-fuze ejection at about 500-700 m for Nammo's 120 mm roundPlaces the light source above the target area long enough for observation and movement.
Light output1,000,000 cd for at least 50 s in the Nammo exampleGives a concrete benchmark for the visible-light class.
Visible and IR splitArmy references list M930 visible-light and M983 infrared 120 mm illumination cartridgesShows why similar-looking 120 mm illumination ammunition may support either unaided observation or night-vision-equipped forces.
Combat-support exampleTask Force Southwest fired 120 mm illumination rounds at Bost Airfield in April 2018Connects the munition class to a directly documented Afghanistan fire mission.
Variants

The page covers the broader 120 mm illumination-ammunition class. The linked U.S. entries split visible-light and infrared 120 mm mortar illumination cartridges into separate catalog records.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
M930 Visible Light Illuminating Cartridge, 120 mm illuminating mortar cartridge, MunitionsM930 Visible Light Illuminating CartridgeVisible-light 120 mm mortar illumination cartridge

U.S. Army ammunition references list M930 as the 120 mm visible-light illumination cartridge for M120A1 and M121 mortar systems.

Sources: Mortar Ammunition, PEO Ammunition 2017 Portfolio Book

M983 120 mm infrared illuminating cartridge, 120 mm infrared illuminating mortar cartridge, MunitionsM983 120 mm infrared illuminating cartridgeInfrared 120 mm mortar illumination cartridge

The Army portfolio book describes M983 as a 120 mm infrared illumination cartridge developed for the M120A1 and M121 Battalion Mortar Systems.

Sources: Mortar Ammunition, PEO Ammunition 2017 Portfolio Book

Firing Weapons

Published ammunition references place 120 mm illumination rounds in both standard smoothbore mortar families and compatible gun-mortar systems.

Firing weaponWeapon typeFiring evidence
120 mm mortar, Heavy mortar, Artillery120 mm mortar120 mm mortar system

U.S. Army ammunition references list M930 visible-light and M983 infrared illumination cartridges under 120 mm mortar ammunition, and Nammo states its 120 mm illuminating round is compatible with standard smoothbore 120 mm mortar systems.

Sources: Mortar Ammunition, Nammo Ammunition Handbook 2021

2S23 Nona-SVK, 120 mm wheeled self-propelled gun-mortar, Artillery2S23 Nona-SVK120 mm gun-mortar

Forecast International explicitly lists illumination among the ammunition types fired by the 2A60 Nona rifled ordnance on the 2S23 Nona-SVK.

Sources: SM-120 (2S23) Nona-SVK 120mm Self-Propelled Howitzer/Mortar

Timeline

120 mm illumination ammunition Key Events

  1. M930 production and fielding baseline

    The Army portfolio book places M930 visible-light illumination cartridge production and deployment with U.S. Army 120 mm mortar units from March 2003.

    Sources: PEO Ammunition 2017 Portfolio Book

  2. Afghanistan illumination fire mission

    U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest fired 120 mm mortar illumination rounds from Bost Airfield to support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces maneuvers during combat operations in Helmand Province.

    Sources: U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest fire 120mm mortar illumination rounds

Media

120 mm illumination ammunition Images

120 mm illumination ammunition, 120 mm illuminating ammunition, Munitions - view 1
Source: Mortar night fire 140318-A-TW035-307.jpg
120 mm illumination ammunition, 120 mm illuminating ammunition, Munitions - view 2
Source: Illumination rounds shot from mortar ignite the midnight sky 150607-A-YY327-038.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
M721 60 mm visible light illumination cartridge, 60 mm visible-light illuminating mortar cartridge, MunitionsMunitionsM721 60 mm visible light illumination cartridge60 mm visible-light illuminating mortar cartridgeThe M721 is a U.S. 60 mm visible-light illuminating mortar cartridge for the M224/M224A1 lightweight company mortar system. Army ammunition materials describe a parachute-and-candle payload, an M776 mechanical time fuze, and roughly 300,000 candlepower for observation, fire adjustment, and signaling, while transfer and budget records place the round in Afghan and Iraqi partner-force ammunition channels.
120 mm smoke ammunition, 120 mm smoke ammunition for rifled gun-mortars, MunitionsMunitions120 mm smoke ammunition120 mm smoke ammunition for rifled gun-mortars120 mm smoke ammunition is a mortar and gun-mortar ammunition class used to build short-duration obscurant screens rather than to deliver direct explosive effects. Forecast International lists smoke among the 120 mm ammunition types fired by the 2A60 Nona rifled ordnance on the 2S23 Nona-SVK, while Army Recognition describes the tracked 2S9 Nona as firing smoke rounds in its indirect-fire role. Modern 120 mm smoke products from STV GROUP, Nammo, and Hirtenberger show the class spanning visible and infrared screening, red-phosphorus payloads, white-phosphorus smoke, and other smoke fills depending on the round.
Mortar launcher, 81mm, 81 mm crew-served medium mortar, ArtilleryArtilleryMortar launcher, 81mm81 mm crew-served medium mortarThe 81 mm mortar launcher is a crew-served medium-mortar class for high-angle indirect fire with high-explosive, smoke, illumination, and training ammunition. This entry treats the L16/M252/M252A1 line as representative of modern 81 mm launchers while keeping conflict-use claims model-specific where sources allow: Boko Haram/ISWAP reporting identifies recovered 81 mm mortar equipment without a model, CJTF-OIR imagery identifies Iraqi M252 training at Camp Taji, and Task Force Southwest imagery identifies U.S. Marine M252 use at Camp Shorab in Afghanistan.
Cartridge, 105 mm, Illuminating, M314, 105 mm howitzer-fired illuminating cartridge with parachute-retarded canister, MunitionsMunitionsCartridge, 105 mm, Illuminating, M314105 mm howitzer-fired illuminating cartridge with parachute-retarded canisterThe M314 is a U.S. 105 mm howitzer illumination cartridge family that ejects a flare canister under parachute for battlefield lighting. Army ammunition manuals list earlier M314-series rounds for M101/M102-era howitzers, while Army portfolio material identifies the M314A3 visible-light round as a 105 mm M119-series illumination cartridge with a semi-fixed case, time fuze, expelling charge, illuminant canister, and parachute assembly.

Sources

SM-120 (2S23) Nona-SVK 120mm Self-Propelled Howitzer/MortarPublisher: Forecast International | Note: Supports the 2A60 Nona ammunition family context, including illumination rounds, and the broader 120 mm gun-mortar relationship to the 2S23 Nona-SVK. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Nammo Ammunition Handbook 2021Publisher: Nammo | Note: Supports representative 120 mm illuminating mortar-round data, including time-fuze parachute deployment, 500-700 m deployment height, 14.0 kg flying mass, 300-8,300 m range, 1,000,000 cd luminosity, at least 50 s illumination, and compatibility with standard 120 mm mortar systems plus AMOS/NEMO with a stub case. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Mortar AmmunitionPublisher: U.S. Army Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics | Note: Supports U.S. Army 120 mm mortar illumination ammunition context by listing M930 visible-light and M983 infrared illumination cartridges and explaining visible-light and IR illumination roles. | Accessed: 2026-06-29PEO Ammunition 2017 Portfolio BookPublisher: U.S. Army Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics | Note: Supports the M930 visible-light and M983 infrared 120 mm illumination cartridge descriptions, M120A1/M121 mortar-system compatibility, and M930 March 2003 production and deployment context. | Accessed: 2026-06-29U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest fire 120mm mortar illumination roundsPublisher: PICRYL / Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: 2001 War in Afghanistan: documents U.S. Marines with Task Force Southwest firing 120 mm mortar illumination rounds from Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, on April 24, 2018, to support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces maneuvers during combat operations in Helmand Province. | Accessed: 2026-06-29120 mm Mortar Illuminating RoundPublisher: Nammo | Note: Supports manufacturer and specification context for a representative 120 mm illuminating mortar round, including illumination role, time-fuze operation, and parachute-retarded light deployment. | Accessed: 2026-06-23120mm mortar bomb illuminating, photographed at the Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain attribution for the representative 120 mm illumination mortar image. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Mortar night fire 140318-A-TW035-307.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain attribution for a 120 mm mortar night-fire image that shows illumination round employment. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Illumination rounds shot from mortar ignite the midnight sky 150607-A-YY327-038.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain attribution for a mortar illumination image. | Accessed: 2026-06-23